Recent reviews by Rick J

Football Squad is the latest game from Ferulox Studios. It is their first game on Steam since December of 2022. It's always good to see small indie studios return after some time away with a fresh title. Ferulox has been busy establishing itself in recent years as a developer of old-school style arcade games and they don't move away from that here.

As a passionate sports fan and gamer, I hoped the game would be right up my alley. When it comes to gameplay the title delivers with aplomb. It's very simplistic - players need to go and chase a football on a pitch and fire it at aliens who are invading. A successful hit will cause the invader to be removed from the screen and occasionally drop a medallion. When you collect enough medallions you advance to the next level.

The aliens' abilities and appearance vary with each level introducing a fresh challenge. I found this to be the peak of the game. Nothing gets stale and boring. Levels are designed to be completed rather quickly making this game ideal for time-poor gamers who only have brief periods to play.

If I was to criticize the game, it would be that I would love for the football aspect of the game to carry more purpose. As far as I can tell there is no way to kick a goal other than to collect the medallions. I spent a few minutes attempting to shoot not at the aliens but at the goals anticipating that something would happen. When nothing did I took this as a missed opportunity to add something special to the game - something that would have elevated it further. (Edit: According to another player there is an easter egg to be discovered here, thank you kamikaze62).

This is another fun and challenging game from Ferulox. I spent my childhood playing games like this on systems like the Atari, Commodore 64, my first PCs and in the 1980's video game arcades with friends. It's always a pleasure trying Ferulox's latest homage to this historic era of video games.

Thank you to the devs for providing the key. I hope to play another Ferulox game in the future.

Review for game awards

Love this game as a MARVEL and Hearthstone player. Sadly, due to vision issues I haven't played on PC lately but play regularly on my phone.

Recommended for card game lovers, MARVEL fans and those into strategy games.

Nominated for: Best Game that I suck at (released in 2022 that I've played).

Kongeer is a Donkey Kong-like. It is difficult and extremely challenging. Quite frankly, I suuuuuuuuuck at it.

The nostalgia in Ferulox's games hits you like a drug and it can be very addictive in short bursts. Thankfully this is what the intention behind Ferulox's games are designed to do. You can pick them up and play a half hour and feel like you've gotten your game on without the need to spend anymore time on. This is perfect for people with limited gaming time.

The game works as expected, plays well and is exactly what the trailer and description says it is.

Classic style graphics, retro sound. As others suggested play the game with low volume and you'll be fine.

Another solid offering from Ferulox.

First, I'd like to apologize to Ferulox Studios for such a significant delay in writing and publishing this review. I am currently admitted to the spinal unit of my local state hospital. I'll be there until mid-October. However, as they have always done Ferulox provided me with a review key for their game at release.


Star Tank is an ultra-challenging classic arcade game reminiscent of the 1980's games such as Galaga and Galaxian). The gameplay is simple. Steer your spacecraft from left to right on the screen while moving your crosshair. The catch? Your crosshair only moves in the direction that you move horizontally (up and down is natural). This means you must coordinate your attacks with your moves so that you're avoiding enemies at the same time as you attack. This is the primary mechanism of the game and where the difficulty lies.


As a youngster growing up on all of the Atari and Commodore 64, DOS, Amiga, etc. games these were the titles that I found the most joy in. However, as a maturing gamer, I have also fallen in love with the twin-stick shooter. While I can reminisce and enjoy Star Tank a part of me craves for it to be a twin-stick shooter. Personally, I found the controls to be arduous to learn, and though I improved throughout my offline play I feel that the game would have played better had it enabled twin-stick gameplay.


Are you a fan of the retro gaming genre? Is an hour or two of solid gameplay worth the cost of a cup of coffee? Then the answer is a solid yes. The game fits the niche very well, as have all of Ferulox's titles, and you should find something to rekindle your fond gaming memories.

I discovered City Climber on Reddit's Game Deals. The developer posted the sale over there. After clicking through I discovered, to my surprise, a game that looked visually appealing and with a well-written 'About This Game' a game that looked to present a healthy challenge.

Without repeating Angelovic's own description, which is apt, the game requires you to use your left and right mouse buttons to grab onto the next ledge to safely navigate each level. This requires increasing amounts of coordination and skill; sometimes at a level that can draw frustration. As someone who uses a computer umpteen hours every day, this is a welcome challenge that put me in my place numerous times.

I am a fan of the different game modes that have been developed into the game. This provides significant amounts of content and is where the game represents value for its price. I can see enthusiasts of the game spending quite a few hours playing through all of the content and then logging even more with its local co-op and turn-based multiplayer modes. I have zero complaints for the single and multiplayer modes. You can even play the game via Steam's Remote Play Together mode so Angelovic has covered as many bases as possible.

The quality featured within the screenshots and the trailer featured on this page are consistent with the game's presentation. Personally, as I mentioned previously, I found the artistic presentation to be quite pleasing on the eye and I was hopeful going into the game that they would mirror with the gameplay. Thankfully, for the most part, they do. There are a few areas that could have been improved a little bit but on the whole, the game is definitely playable and the graphics are as visually appealing while playing as they are as screenshots.

Featurewise, the game has 23 achievements for you to successfully unlock, has Steam trading cards, but the most significant Steam feature for me are the online leaderboards. These types of games are always better when you can compare yourself to your friends and the best players in the world. Personally, I find that they're a gauge to see how skilful (or not) you are. At first, I thought that I was doing poorly but then I looked at my friends list and found that I was doing favourably in comparison and when those are players you respect the skill level of its a nice little confidence booster.


If you're reading this review during its sale period (ending on 20 January), the A$1.39 price is entirely worth it for an indie game that has been crafted with love and care. Angelovic has produced a title that he can be really proud of. It's made me download his other game on Steam, the narrative experience The Flood which is free and has a similarly striking visual appearance to this one. His next game ARTIFICIAL arrives later this year and I look forward to it.

• Challenging gameplay
  
• Visually appealing
  
• Good amount of content
  
• Singleplayer with local & remote play multiplayer
  
• Well integrated Steam features (achievements, cards, leaderboards, remote play)

• A couple of places where the backgrounds don't quite marry with the gameplay. Not a big deal as you can still complete the levels

Here come the Men in Black…

MIB is the third release from feruloxstudios. They are quietly developing a reputation for developing quirky retro-styled classic arcade games. These are the types of games that those of us who are from Generation X (and Y) typically hold onto as key milestones in our gaming history.


One of the important reasons why has to do with just how challenging those games were. The controls would often be quite simple but they’d be nigh on impossible to master. This had both pros and cons. The aggravating con would be that they would eat your quarters if you played them at the arcade and wanted to advance. This, of course, was what they were designed and programmed to do.

However, the strength would be those moments where you slowly mastered the games you were addicted to. The overwhelming sense of achievement. The triumph of beating stages and advancing through the game. The release of dopamine would be euphoric.

Times may have changed since then but the feeling of success still feels true when you can advance.
Unfortunately, as a single-player, there is just too much area to traverse in order to pick up ammo and the rewarding X’s (dropped by destroying enemies) while the enemies are deployed too rapidly. This makes the game almost impossible for a solo player to keep up with the pace of the game.

This is because the game has been designed as a two-player co-op experience. If the game was to slow down then it would be much too easy for a two-player game.

Consequently, the result is a difficulty that is frustrating for the wrong reasons. If the dev team could add difficulty settings engineered around differentiating single and co-op games this would benefit the game exponentially. I, as a single-player, would get the best experience possible while not taking away from the intended co-op experience.


MIBT’s game trailers and screenshots are an accurate and fair reflection on the game.

Similarly, to the previous games that feruloxstudios have produced the developers have a strong understanding about what makes retro-styled games work from a presentation perspective.

However, I must commend them on their choice of backgrounds for the different stages. This is a step in the right direction for the studio and is something that is technically advanced from their previous games.

A funny quirk that I noticed with this game is how much the blond agent reminds me of Donald Trump. Perhaps this was intentional but it made me giggle every time I played and… well… I would be dishonest if I told you that it didn’t fill me with joy watching my character die on multiple occasions. The way the character loses its clothing and ultimately becomes a corpse was smart, and humorous, design.

The music used is well chosen, for the most part, and again is fitting to the game and genre.


I played with my keyboard. Using the arrow keys and the L and K keys to move, jump and shoot were simple enough although that particular combination felt a little awkward. I adjusted relatively easily. However, I feel it is noteworthy as it may frustrate other players.

In the coming days, I will be able to play with a controller. If I discover something noteworthy then I'll be sure to update this review.

My one response to gameplay is that I would recommend increasing the amount of ammo that you begin with particularly for one-player games. This is related to the rapid rate in which enemies spawn on the screen. In all of my games, even with careful usage of ammo, I found myself running low. If it were merely a matter of “playing smarter” then it would be understandable.

However, it isn’t because the enemies are bullet sponges and ammunition never gets you far enough. This means you are always on the lookout for more. You then run into the problem of having to get to areas on the map where enemies have spawned too rapidly to be avoided. Ultimately, cheap, frustrating, deaths are inevitable.


Please add a difficulty that differentiates single and co-op games.


I genuinely enjoy feruloxstudios games. They are basic and satisfy a nice little craving for retro games. Unfortunately, given the difficulty I found it impossible to advance very far into the game because enemies spawn too quickly for single-player games.

The game certainly has potential to be every bit as enjoyable as your previous games. Fingers crossed on an update. The updates to their previous games were very well received and met the requests of the player base.

I recommend the game for co-op and highly skilled gamers who enjoy difficult challenges.


I have previously reviewed Xeyyex and Space Climber. I recommended both games as I believe they satisfy a rather specific niche.

The year was 1983. I was 3-years-old. My mother introduced me to gaming via her much loved Atari and a lifelong gamer was born. From Frogger, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Asteroids, Breakout, and Centipede to everything else in between my mother purchased almost every game she could get her hands on. We spent hours playing them together and I'm certain she spent plenty more playing them after I was fast asleep.

A long-time has passed since then. Yet one thing has stayed true. Our love and need for entertainment. Technology has advanced at a level beyond our imaginations. Games like Space Climber and feruloxstudios' debut game XEYYEX are classic examples of nostalgia introduced to a modern audience. Whether they have the tools and features necessary to entertain a modern audience is the question that needs to be answered.


What I remember most fondly about the older generation games was the enormous challenge the top games offered. It wasn't just that I was a young gamer because I know game industry veterans have written copious amounts of dialogue on how difficult games used to be.

The reality was that the challenge was so high that the games forced you to "get gud" as you'd say nowadays or otherwise you'd have a hard time rather than an enjoyable one. Every time you bettered your high score (in an era before achievements) it felt like a true feat. When you finally learned how to beat a boss or a level you felt like the man (wooo!)

And this is where I feel Space Climber triumphs. I finally played the game when I had no Internet due to a telco error. It took me a good hour and a half to overcome the difficulty of the opening levels. I mean, I wasn't exactly terrible right out of the gate, but I'd *almost* get to the end of the level and then I'd be overcome by enemies -- ammo and oxygen are offered enough to have available resources but the paths to getting them not always the easiest to traverse.


You have to remember that we didn't have the graphic quality back in the day that we do now. Therefore, it was of vital importance that the limited color palettes available to the developers were implemented intelligently. Poor games were often those that had poor design choices based on the usage of the pallette. People don't want to play games that hurt their eyes.

There are some levels in Space Climber -- as visually presented in the screenshots -- that are harsh on the eyes. There are others that are more pleasing. The positive here is that, in my opinion, Space Climber is never held back by poor design choices that make things difficult for the player to see. This was another important thing in the development of the game.

As far as sound goes, these guys know how to design sound into a retro game without being over the top. The pew pew of the weapons is fine and the soundtrack more than suitable. As a result, there's a tick for the sound department.


In giving hopeful reviewers Steam keys the developers warned that they had reused the same backgrounds for XEYYEX. To be honest when I read this I was scared for the game. I was worried that this would turn out to be just an asset swap with some minor gameplay mechanic changes to XEYYEX that could have been implemented as a DLC.

I am glad that I was wrong. Yes, they reused the backgrounds but they worked the first time and they work here again. Furthermore, the game is suitably different to XEYYEX that they are clearly two different products under the same genre that should attract many of the same players. In other words, this is not an asset flip and you're not paying for the same game twice.


There are some frustrations here that peeved me off. However, when thinking back to older generation games many of them had the same issues. These issues are in the fairness of the game. It is extremely frustrating to have worked hard to get towards the end of a level only for the game to spawn an enemy unit within immediate proximity and for the player to have no actual way to defend themselves from impending doom - too close to stand there and shoot the enemy down and not far enough away to flee and avoid being hit.

The enemy AI is unfair in other ways which other reviewers have already. They are entirely correct and as a result, the game can turn from enjoyable to rage quitting ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ in a matter of seconds. But as said, this can also be considered part of the charm and truism of the genre the developers have filled.

This is really the only "buyer beware" scenario of the game.


The game is a smidge under $6 in Australia and probably less elsewhere. I'd argue that it's a fair price. Anything less and the developers probably aren't making the profit they need to.

It's a niche game that calls upon the nostalgia of older generation gamers. It does it well enough that you'll want to get through at least a few levels and sink a few hours into the game. I feel that it satisfied the time in which I couldn't access the Internet very well. It made me think of my mother who has been deceased for almost 20 years and the times we spent together throughout my childhood playing games. Those are experiences that are easily forgotten and not often thought of but are really the backbone to the parental bonding I wish all children had an opportunity to experience.

My final verdict is "thank you." Yes, the game is worth the sixer and I enjoyed my time with the game.


I, obviously, do not know what type of income you made for either of your two games so what I may say may be incorrect.

However, releasing a game on December 12 would appear to be a shortsighted decision in my opinion. This is because the date lays between Steam's Thanksgiving Sale and the Winter Sale. I would believe that the majority of diehard Steam gamers are either playing the games that they purchased on Thanksgiving and/or are waiting for the Winter Sale so they can pick up their favorite games of the year at a discounted price or their favorite games on their wishlist that have previously been prohibitively expensive.

Furthermore, a release of December 12 (I'm in Australia so if it was the 11th elsewhere please excuse me) prohibits you from putting your game on sale during the actual sales. You're in a no-win situation. Your game is going to be buried and not given an opportunity to succeed in the ways that you want it to.

My strong advice would be for your future releases to avoid these windows as much as possible.


feruloxstudios gave me a key before the game was released. Unfortunately, due to health and other commitments, I was unable to spend time playing the game to write a review. I sincerely apologize to the developers. If you grant me a review key in the future I'll attempt to be more prompt like I was with XEYYEX and continue to give you a fair and balanced opinion on your games. Good luck!

Updated.

XEYYEX is a retro (80’s) action arcade game that has been inspired by the likes of Pac-Man and Battle City. The game has been developed by feruloxstudios who are located in Bombay, India and who are newcomers to Steam.



To be as honest as possible, I was one of many people who received Steam friend requests from the developer’s primary account. Naturally, I always check who is sending me a friend request before I accept. When I discovered that they were a developer my interest was immediately piqued. They dropped me a key for the game in their introductory message and at the very least I thought it would be nice to at least give them a few minutes of my time and play the game. Therefore, I can tell you that I went in without any expectations and all they could hope for was that I enjoyed their game. I was under no agreement to write this review.


Retro gamers will have no difficulty in understanding how to play. The game is self-explanatory. Simply move your character with the bright eye around the maps killing your enemies. Players will need to be mindful of picking up more ammunition (orange and blue rectangular things) and time (clocks) as well as building a score (other things on the map serve as ‘prizes’).

The game offers a bonus life for every, I believe, 5000 points scored while getting the letters to complete E X P L O S I V E will award you bombs. Acquiring duplicate letters doesn’t give you anything or help you get more bombs so they are best avoided until the letter changes.

There are several alternative levels in the game. Instead of the basic killing mobs until you get enough the pink X’s required to advance to the next phase you’ll be eating all of the dots on the screen just like in Pac-Man.
Kudos must be given to the fact that the developers have listened to feedback from their audience. They have modified the game’s difficulty (it was set too high) and have made it a little easier. However, the game is still challenging without being frustrating.

With thirty phases as well as an additional thirty different enemies and traps – each with their own unique patterns and abilities the game offers enough variety so that each phase feels distinctly different. With the edits made to the game the difficulty ramps up very well after an initial learning and comfortability period.


The presentation is where the game is most addictive. The game’s visuals have been well decided. Unlike some other games in the genre I didn’t find any of the chosen colour combinations to be glaring. It’s mostly pleasing on the eyes with smart decisions being made.

The developers made additional clever decisions with the choice of music. The tunes played are catchy and capture the retro vibe perfectly.

I don't really have anything of value to criticize regarding the game's presentation. The devs knew what they were creating and did a perfect job in executing their vision.


The game has built in replayability. Players must complete each phase to move onto the next one – there are 30 in all - but must also start from the very beginning when you lose your lives.

However, I find this to be mildly frustrating. This is because there’s really no other reason to replay the game at this stage. Thankfully, there are things that can easily remedy this situation. For beginners, they can improve the “score attack” proponent of the game and make people chase an online top score. By doing something as simple as this you’re inviting players who want to be the envy of their friends or of the game’s community should other players want to outdo one another.


The game has full controller support. If you can use a controller then you can play.

Alternatively, the default keys for a one player game are the arrow keys and the L and K buttons. If these keys are manageable to you (you’ll be constantly pressing the L key to shoot with the K key only used for bombs which are in limited supply) then you will also not have a problem.

Unfortunately, I do not believe that the game gives you the opportunity to remap the keys to a better combination. The WASD keys are player two’s keyboard controls.


• Steam Achievement (one)

Honestly, this is the area of the game that I am a little disappointed. This is because XEYYEX is perfect for many more Steam achievements (destroy X amount of X mob, getting X bombs by completing the word E X P L O S I V E (which unlocks bombs!), completing phase X, etc.

Additionally, the game would be better served by incorporating Steam Leaderboard system. This is because not only is the game’s objective to get 10 X’s from killing mobs in each phase (or collecting all the dots Pac-Man style) but it drops enough scoring awards to make it a score attack game. Replayability would be extended past just beating the game if you were to challenge your friends or the world’s top scores.

As a result of Feruloxstudios being a new developer on Steam the system is still ‘learning about this game’ which means things such as Steam trading cards cannot be added to the game. Hopefully the developers continue releasing games onto Steam and develop their brand. This would result in restrictions such as these being lifted and their games becoming more profitable. This is only a good thing because it’s clear that they care about their audience and their game.


As previously mentioned, I did not pay for the game. Unfortunately, with the game only having the one confirmed Steam user review the bulk of the reviews on Steam came in the same method mine is.

Consequently, it’s clear that nobody has purchased the game. It’s a real shame. At $5.95 had I been able to learn about the game and how much enjoyment it provides I would have contemplated a purchase. Ultimately, however, I feel that this is one of those games that will be destined for an indie bundle sooner rather than later. If it is then I’d heartily recommend a bundle purchase and believe that retro enthusiasts would feel that they got a steal here.

If you value the A$5.95 that the game costs as being the equivalent to a cup of coffee, and you got a couple of hours entertainment out of it the game would represent decent value. It’s certainly not overpriced but the game clearly lacks exposure to a bigger player base. Hopefully these reviews help that.


To be perfectly honest, XEYYEX scratches an itch that I never knew required scratching. I grew up playing games like Pac-Man and Frogger. It is expertly designed to give the feelings that it would have fit perfectly on an Atari.

However, I believe that it is better than many of the legitimate Atari ports that are on Steam. The developers have done well to understand what retro developers did right and did wrong. Although the game isn’t perfect the nostalgia adds to the quality experience.

XEYYEX is worthy of your time and the small investment. Whether that investment comes through an eventual indie bundle or through an outright purchase on Steam I do recommend you play the game. Retro experts shouldn’t hold back!

Razerwire: Nanowars is a retro (80's) action-arcade game that progression addicts are certain to love. The game reminds me of the games that I would play for countless hours as a child. It is the result of a lunchtime, 30-minute a day, project developed by a dev who works on much larger projects. That makes this a bit of a passion project that has been programmed with love.... and that love shines through.


When Razerwire: Nanowars went on sale the developer posted the deal to Reddit's r/Gamedeals and disclosed that the game was a part of an OtakuMaker bundle just as they went bankrupt. Unfortunately, he did not receive the ten thousand keys that he submitted back nor did he ever get paid for them. Other developers from the bundle who also never got paid had the keys revoked. However, knowing that legitimate purchases were made before the bundle was pulled, decided against revoking the keys. This resulted in a loss of hundreds of dollars from the loss of keys nor did he receive payment from OtakuMaker from the legitimate buyers.


Gameplay is simple. The player guides their monomolecular filament (the RazerWire) across the screen protecting its generator from the nanobugs whose sole purpose is to destroy it.

There is a lot of variety in the enemies each with their own intelligence, movement patterns, and level of aggressiveness. For example, some bugs will race towards your generator whilst the usually easier (sometimes not) bugs will hang out at the corner of the screen or go in multiple different ways with some of them just causing a distraction without necessarily heading to your generator. I personally found some of these bugs to be a greater challenge than those who are aggressive from the nanosecond they hit your screen.

Additionally, the further you play into the game the higher the types and total bugs are thrown at you. You're not just going to be seeing the same bugs on the screen at any one time. In order to be successful you're going to need to think on your feet and learn the movement of each bug.

I loved the upgrade system in the game. You can upgrade both your razerwire as well as your generator. You can upgrade these from both a defensive and offensive perspective. Each upgrade comes with a different cost. The player is awarded a unit of currency for every 1000 points that they score within the game. Upgrades cost between 1 and 3 units of currency at the beginning and scale up each time you upgrade.


As I grew up playing Commodore 64, Atari, arcade machines, and other early console games I was hoping for authenticity from the presentation. If a developer is going to bill their game as a 'modern revisitation of the 80s' arcades' then it can't be something super modern. Thankfully, the developer has delivered on this front in spades. It's everything that I could hope for from an 80's style presentation from a graphical perspective. Additional kudos needs to go to the musician, Ottavio Cambieri of Mashmachines[www.mashmachines.com].

The only downside I can see is that the lime green menu background comes off as dangerously garish. However, this is me being more pedantic than anything else.


For a low priced game there aren't many that possess higher levels of replayability. In fact, I would argue that the entirety of the game relies on it. There are multiple reasons for this.

First, at the end of every 'run' the player has the opportunity to start from the most recent checkpoint passed or to start from the beginning. This makes it so that there is never a point that you reach a wave that is too difficult for your ability level. Additionally, resetting to wave zero enables you to retain upgrades, nanopoints, and kills while only losing your score progress.

The downside to this replayability system and resetting scores is that the game gives you multiple (3) save slots. The replayability system almost makes having multiple save slots pointless. However, I'll readily admit that if you have family or friends who share your Steam account that would like to play they'll be able to do so without affecting your save. Simply give them their own slot.


High-Level Accessibility: The game can be played entirely through mouse (and trackpad for laptop users). It also has full controller support. As long as you can push the mouse/trackpad and use the left and right buttons then you can do everything that the game requires you to do.

• Steam Achievements
  
• Steam Leaderboards
  
• Steam Stats
  
• Steam Cloud

There are currently no trading cards available for players.


I purchased the game at its half-price discount thanks to the aforementioned sale. However, the game is cheap when it's not on sale at A$2.95. This makes the 'value for money' discussion kind of mute. At the price point you're not looking for several hundred hours of value.


I came with low expectations. I wanted to support a developer who did the right thing by gamers and to have a few minutes of low-value gaming fun. I thought I would then delete the game and it'd be +1 to my Steam game count. Anything more was gravy. I definitely have gravy. Razerwire: Nanowars is a game that I will keep installed on both my laptop and desktop. It's the perfect little throwback action arcade game that I will play for a few minutes during work hours when I need a quick pick me up. If you're looking for something similar in a game then you've come to the right place. An easy recommendation.


Personal Note: This is my first review since gaining a permanent disability. From now on my reviews will feature a disability accessibility component.

To be completely upfront I am a member of a large number of indie development Facebook groups. Anxious Neck Games is a fellow member in at least one of those groups. The aim of these groups is to discuss game development yet to be completely impartial and provide quality feedback. What that means is that if a game is lacking in quality the developer wants to know that. Consequently, you can rest assured this review is impartial and is an attempt to offer quality feedback.

Furthermore, for those who question the purchase of this product, indeed I did purchase it on Steam throughout its current week long deal.


Let's get the major downside to the game out of the way immediately. For a veteran gamer, the game is arguably too easy. This won't bother some of you who just want a relaxing gaming experience in the Metroidvania genre that you're familiar with. However, there are others who will feel greatly aggrieved at the simplicity. Some of the all-time classic games in the genre such as La-Mulana are relentlessly difficult and it is often this difficulty that is sighted as a reason for the game's greatness.

However, it didn't bother me as much as it may have because it has been a while since I've played a title in the genre. This negative may also be conveyed as a strength as it is, in my opinion, a worthy 'gateway' title for genre newcomers. I'd recommend playing this before playing one of the notoriously difficult games in the genre.

The only other negative is that the game seemingly dumps you at the start of the game. What to do? Where to go? No tutorial? Got it. Thanks for that. A little bit more effort at the beginning of the game would make newcomers feel a lot more welcome. However, the game is pretty simple to work out. Walk, aim, shoot. Avoid the obstacles and learn how to jump and shoot.


Everyone loves a good boss fight, right? If you're one of them then Nakawak is a gem. They have been well thought out and really energize the gameplay. This makes them enjoyable and solidifies the game into a whole rather than a mass of disjointed parts like some boss fights have a tendency of doing in other games.

The presentation is full of heart. It is downright charming. I really adore the color palette and the sounds. Again, it is decisively clear that there has been a lot of thought gone into it. Nothing feels out of place or willy-nilly. This developer has clearly thought about making each part and how it fits together to make a whole. It makes the game far more enjoyable and robust than what it otherwise could feel like.

This is continued with the gameplay controls. I preferred playing this using my Xbox One controller rather than my keyboard. I've been a bit of a sucker for keyboard controls of recent times but it just felt more comfortable with a controller. I do appreciate that other players will feel differently to me on this so it's not a sticking point at all. The game controlled smoothly either way.

For such a short game I was taken aback at how delightful this little world was to explore. I certainly wasn't expecting it. I had read other reviews before finally playing the game and so was aware of its brevity. However, to fit in some exploration makes the game rewarding to play. I also enjoyed the regular save points. Again, despite the simplicity, the save points still felt like a carrot to a horse. Get to the save point and continue on.

The final positive that I would like to touch on is that the game has room for replayability. I've just started my second playthrough and I can already appreciate the lessons that I learned in my first playthrough. This is a real credit for a debuting Steam developer-publisher.



I don't believe the game has sold enough to become eligible for the Steam Trading Card program so I'll leave that alone. However, what would really do well with this game is to implement Steam Achievements into it. It's the type of game that would make for smart achievements - achievements on picking up upgrades, reaching certain savepoints, defeating bosses, etc. without being able to be accused of being an achievement spam game. Realistically, this is the only thing that should be implemented if at all possible.


An easy recommendation is given its price tag regardless of whether or not it is on sale. A buck for a couple of hours of entertainment is very inexpensive. Nakawak is full of charm and is highly playable. It is a credible entry to the Metroidvania genre. However, I hope that the dev makes a more challenging game with his next title. Either way, I eagerly await for it. Congratulations Anxious Neck Games on a gem of an indie game.

For those who want a score... I feel comfortable giving it an 8 out of 10 given the price, quality, enjoyment, and all the other related jazz comparative to other games of its type.

Ed's note: For whatever reason, my Steam playtime is wrong for this game. It took me several hours to complete.